Set List

Reviews

From Richard Handal

September 3, 1999 - Richard called me after the show to tell me the set list and make a few comments.

Tori's set list changes more and more each show. I also heard Alanis changed her set list quite a bit too.

Richard added that Tori completely owned the crowd tonight. She was laid back, easy going, and it all seemed to come effortlessly to her. It was also one of the best shows of the tour so far, if not THE best! She was like a laser beam....focused and balanced. Cruel was really intense and Tori winked into the camera during The Waitress. Tori's set lasted from 8:02 PM until 9:17.

All Reviews Below Were Originally Posted On The Dent Forum

Special thanks to Laurie Daniels for her invaluable assitance in getting the reviews transferred to the Dent!

From Eric The Red:

wow...wow...wow...wow...wow...wow...
was it just me, or was tori incredibly sexed up tonight? i mean, the two constants about the dc/baltimore area shows are that 1) there will be plenty of little earthquake songs (since her parents will be in the audience) and 2) there will be a conspicuous amount of bumping and grinding (since her parents will be in the audience).

re: the making out in the lawn line that others have mentioned: i'd actually heard her say something very similar ("nobody ever bought me a pavilion seat, so we had to just go make out in the lawn -- but that doesn't matter now, because i'm up *here*") at wolf trap in virginia in 1996. if nothing else, it's a good line to connect to the people sitting in the sog of the lawn...

and oh , man is it weird having precious things close the show! after plugged '98, your mind has gotten totally used to the show STARTING with pt... and seeing her walk onstage to the piano and begin playing, the end of 5 1/2 weeks feels just like the beginning of plugged '98... whoa...cosmic, man! ;-}

right now my very favorite tour shirt is black, with a stylized grand piano (and a stylized tori sitting at it, if memory serves) drawn in white upon the front, with the tour dates on the back. the purple shirt with the bathroom-and-boa photo is nice too... it was absolutely dreadful out with rain all night, as others have said, so i'm holding out on purchasing until philadelphia (a move i hope i don't regret).

i don't recall the specifics of alanis's set, but looking at her other setlists, i'm starting to see a pattern here... let's see, could she have played baba, all i really want, hand in my pocket, are you still mad?, sympathetic character, you learn, forgiven, so pure, you oughta know, uninvited (finale), thank u, and ironic (encores)?

do you know, i kinda think that she did. that. exact. set. again. there might have been a dropout or two, and there might have been a surprise or two. i know that the last seven songs or so seem to be utterly unchanged from night to night.

sigh... i posted a note to the merriweather board asking people to give alanis a break, and i don't mean to hypocritically dump on her now. i know, tori's set has patterns too -- god is almost always the first song, waitress is almost always the last, precious things is almost always the encore.

i guess i just see this getting really tedious after a few more shows. "oh, goody, it's you learn-forgiven-so pure-you oughta know-uninvited-thank u-ironic! i love the way she plays them all in order like that, over and over and over again."

i just checked the newsgroup archives and it looks like the garbage/liz phair spring 99 shows had a longer, but similarly unchanged setlist -- and the order of the core songs in this set were unchanged; there were just more songs around them.

interestingly, the first time she played a seventy-five minute set was probably woodstock. in which she played, you guessed it, baba, joining you, hand in my pocket, sympathetic character, you learn, forgiven, so pure, all i really want, you oughta know, uninvited, thank u, and ironic. in that order.

but anyway...

tori was incredible. i know, that kinda goes without saying, especially coming from me... but she surprised me. i was blown away by the intensity of the songs tonight. this was my first show since plugged '98 came to an end, and i suppose my expectations had drooped a bit (largely, i have to admit, from reading the negative experiences others have related from last week's shows).

one thing that seemed unique and quite positive was the merriweather video projection system. i'm trying to recall whether i've been able to see tori's facial expressions as much in earlier shows -- did the later college plugged '98 shows have cameras? did any of the shows, for that matter? i'm rarely looking at them, but i watched the screens a lot tonight.

and *gods* she's beautiful. maybe it's the haircut. maybe it's the camera close-up. maybe it was the off-the-shoulder drape, or the red ribbon around the neck, or the black armband.

... oh yeah. the drape was tied by a large cloth that looked all the world to me like a black armband. did anyone else notice this? later in the evening she pushed it fully over her shoulder, so it looked less like a funeral band -- but my memories of the earlier songs in the set are colored by what i'd perceived as intensity from some recent loss. any thoughts on this?

she did have a **lot** of family in the audience. the reverend and mrs. amos, of course -- but also what seemed like an entire noah's ark of cousins and nieces and nephews. all platinum blonde, it seemed...

i dunno. none of my business, but might there have been a recent death in the family? she did seem to stack the deck with graveyard leading into tear in your hand. ["i'm coming into the graveyard to sing you to sleep now... maybe it's time to wave goodbye now."] if she'd launched from there into merman i'd have lost it entirely. [i just about did anyway when she went from there into thank you and silent.]

on a completely unrelated note, is it me, or are joel and the reverend amos peas from the same pod? they've both got that whole gary busey thing going on in spades... and it surprises me not at all that she'd gravitate, even subconsciously, towards a man who vaguely resembles her father as her chief bodyguard.

one last tangent, while i'm spinning in post-concert euphoria: i have to wonder what joel and steve think about being drafted into service on an odd-numbered year. i'm sure they're happy to do it, but i honestly wasn't sure until i saw them both that they'd be back on active duty this time around. the band, sure -- but the rest of her crew has had a few tours to build up an expectation around having odd numbered years to themselves. ;-}

matt chamberlain did a cute number that i only caught because it was on-camera -- when he was introduced, his hand went to the top of his head and his fingers wiggled, deedly-bop style. no, raspberry swirl doesn't look like it's coming around these days (i didn't notice the barrels, and without them it's unlikely) -- but it was cute to see matt adopting the symbology; to us, he'll always be the drummer with the glowing bouncing things on his head.

but where was i. oh yeah. tori looking even more gorgeous than usual, somehow. it's been a few months since i've seen her, sure -- and i really don't recall seeing her on a projection tv system before. but she was positively stunning.

we've seen her perform before the cameras before on letterman and leno and rosie and r.a.i.n.n. and 54th and mtv (come to think of it, we've seen a lot more live footage than i'd have thought) but we've NEVER seen her work the camera like she did tonight during waitress. utterly phenom.

and i am so, so happy that precious things, cruel, cornflake girl, sugar, and waitress are on the live disc of "venus and back." (i was overjoyed to see space dog and little earthquakes there as well). tonight's concert put those songs in sharp relief for me again. they are so incredible live...

spring haze's lyrics seemed to have a few lines about waiting for the clouds to part... appropriate, given the wet weather.

considering that i'm STILL buzzing in the afterglow and i didn't even get a chance to meet her this time around, i'd say that this was a pretty fantastic evening overall.

i am so looking forward to philadelphia friday night... ;-}

now i just have to find a way to get out of work early enough on friday to get to the meet & greet. ;-D

more later,

eric the red

one more tangent: is it me, or do we really, really, really need to get a quality director -- someone who knows when to look at tori's hands and when to look at her face -- to capture her songs properly live on video? that's why, i think, the other live performances i've seen on a television screen didn't seem anywhere near a real concert's intensity. until you know enough about the music to know where the piano solos are in cornflake girl (and to know to *get a camera on her hands during those moments*), you'll never capture even a shadow of the magic of her performances.

From Eva8:

Wow, the show was wonderful. It started out great, I mean the whole thing. I got to the meet & greet an hour before. When she got out of her limo, she asked Joel to get my bag. I had written her a letter and a birthday card, and I gave her a present too. My little sister had made her a little bean heart with "Tori" written on it. She said hi to my sister and I. We had faerie wings on and lots of glitter. I had never seen Tori up so close. I will always treasure that moment. The show was wonderful. I particularly liked Precious Things, Tear in Your Hand, and Silent All these Years, and Bliss. She did Thank You, The Waitress, Cornflake Girl, Cruel, God, and hmmm... what else? I'll let you guys know if I remember. I bought the tour book and the "moistening" t-shirt. All was well worth the price. The rain was tough. We were soaking wet, even with umbrellas waiting for the show and @ the meet and greet. I'm just glad we didn't have lawn seats. I didn't stay for the Alanis Morisette set. Tori wore a dress, almost like a toga, and her hair was in dreds again (kinda like dreds). She looked beautiful as always. She winked @ the audience, and did some little dances. She said she used to make out in the lawn @ Merriweather Post Pavillion. And before she played Thank You, she said, there was a girl in high school, i think Susan something, that used to play it better than her, and she always used to cry when she did. The show was intimate, considering the large crowd. She definitely connected with us.

I met Rasin Girrl, and Maurice (she was really nice, I met her @ the meet and greet, you know who you are, I'm sorry I forgot your name).

I had a wonderful time @ the show. I just wish she played a little longer.

Have fun you guys. Love ya!

~Eva

From a_witness:

Although I wish it were otherwise, the Merriweather show was less inspiring than I had hoped. I had lawn tickets and did not hear the songs as well as those in the pavilion. It was ironic that it rained so much on this night. I wanted the songs to infect me with poignant emotion but they just rolled off me like the rain. Live, the band seems to overwhelm her too much for me. Juarez was good. Spring Haze was great. I couldn't make out a single word of these songs. I noticed many around us who seemed to ignore Tori and concentrate on making noise, lighting the next cigarette, and drinking beer.

The most humorous moment of the evening was when a young lady in front of us came to me during Tori's encore (Precious Things) to ask if I would take a picture of her and her friends together. I held up my index finger to signify she should politely wait while I listened to the song. She took this as a yes and grabbed by hand to lead me to the camera. I had to repeat the gesture with a shake of my head and a quiet (but firm) "not now." After the song I asked if she still wanted the picture. She apologized twice for interrupting me and I took a picture of "the girls."
Eric the Red, I thought I saw you dancing in the rain but the man with the red beard spells his name E I R I K and said you were an American cousin since real Vikings stand in the rain.

On a night planned for a special musical memory I just walked away with muddy feet.

From Cynfae:

ohmygod....tht was the most amazeing thing i've ever been too! it was my first Tori concert! GOD she was so beautifull! and i tears comeing down my face the whole time, I feel so lucky to have been there, even my sis was crying and shes not even a big Tori fan or anything...her music is just sooo powerfull...i was kinda dissapointed thou, i really wanted to meet sum Tori fans and they were all over too but i just felt like i should'nt but im hopeing next time i'll make sum friends there. and i missed the meet n greet but i dont think i was ready for it yet, next time i will be but i cant imagine what i would do if i was tht close to her, would i break down? even faint? but i'll be so ready for her next time, god she was awesome! just wanted to say what a great time i had! LOVE YA'S!

~any kind of touch i think is better then none, even upside down~

From jacobsroom:

I've been to 3 Tori shows & while this wasn't necessarily my favorite (that honor definitely goes to the Ithaca, NY show from Plugged 98), it was notable for me in that I was one of the lucky ones with the green octagonal BACKSTAGE PASSES!! In truth, it wasn't anything of my doing; a good friend of mine from college is both a Tori fan & a Tori relative and so she got us the passes & seats in one of the "relative rows." As to the show itself -- pretty damn good, as I've come to expect from Tori. Highlights for me included "Sugar," "Graveyard," and "Thank You," though I could have done without (sorry) "Tear in Your Hand" which I seem condemned to ALWAYS hear when I see her. I do agree with the people who have complained about the sound; I felt like the band consistently drowned both her and the piano out. Maybe some better mixing called for?

When "Precious Things" ended, my friend and I rushed to the "guest" area. We were first shepherded into this large, unlit tent where we stood about for 10 or 15 minutes; then, we were shepherded again into the back of the pavilion, a large screened-in deck with picnic tables set up, a lot of drinkables around, many many MANY people awaiting Tori, and a lingering smell of pizza. I briefly met Tori's brother and sort of stood next to the Rev. and Mrs. Amos (the latter very much reminding me of my grandmother), though I didn't talk to them (no backbone, you see). Steve Caton appeared for a while & was talking to some people a couple of feet away from me, but I also didn't talk to him (once again, the lack of backbone...!). Finally, about 10:20, my friend and I were ushered (along with 4 other people) into Tori's dressing room. Tori knew the first 2 people from when she was a kid (apparently -- they said something along the lines of "look at you; we remember you when you were just kneehigh to a grasshopper" etc. etc.). Then we were next -- Tori immediately recognized my friend, hugged her, and then shook my hand. I'm not sure that she knew quite what to do with me as I was quite calm (despite being Very Much The Fan). I got my copy of the God single signed & got a photo with her (yeah!). As we left, Tori was interacting with a girl who had become so emotional upon seeing her that she (the girl, not Tori) was emitting somewhat hysterical yooping noises. It was a really interesting experience -- how could meeting Tori NOT be interesting, to say the least?! -- but there was little substance to the actual meeting; no conversation, etc. Of course, how could she spend more time when she had no less than 100 people to meet after playing very energetically for 75 mins. or so? I wish I had remembered to tell her that she's REALLY a saint for taking so much time to meet with her fans -- and how much we all appreciate it (and if we forget, we should repeatedly kick ourselves and remind ourselves how lucky we are that she cares enough to give so much of her time -- and herself).

We returned for the remainder of Alanis's set, though it was pretty anticlimactic after seeing Tori in the flesh. Nonetheless, I don't think that the mixture of her and Tori was especially effective as a concert-going experience -- her music seemed less subtle (and thus more pop-ready) than Tori's. Don't get me wrong -- I actually do like Alanis (no bashing here), but I thought that they went together about as well as oil and water. We'll make Tori Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Alanis tap water -- how's that? Did it bug anyone, incidentally, that Tori's set design (the mysterious aluminum foil and not especially interesting lighting) seemed to be constrained -- indeed given second place to -- Alanis's much more elaborate stage apparatus? Co-headliners my ass. Now remember, that's not a complaint against either Tori or Alanis, but against the format of the show. Still -- Tori live: one can't grouse too much!

Cheers!

From Girlswhentheyfall:

Personally, my tori experience *my first tori concert at that!* was a complete disaster. Ugh, I'm still upset about it. I brought my friend Sam and my friend Becka. They had only met once before but as the day went on, they got closer and closer till by the end they were basically ignoring me and flirting madly. Which sucks for me cause I really like Sam...so needless to say that kind of ruined my day right off. I was so upset about them ignoring me that I could barely enjoy the concert. Also, I was kinda pissed at Merriweather. Not only was the meet and greet TOTALLY unorganized but at every other concert I've been to, people swarm to the pit, and are dancing in the aisles. I tried to dance in the aisle, cause I felt so confined in my seat (and I could barely see) and some merriweather staff guy started yelling at me :P So I can see how it WAS awesome, but I was too upset to enjoy it The only time I was totally able to lose myself in tori was 'silent all these years' I guess cause it was just her.

ok, enough with the bitching *sorry I had to get it out somehow* Anyhow, yeah! At the meet and greet, I was the redheaded grrl with the white tank top and the long cranberry-ish skirt. Although it ended up being futile, I really loved the people I met at meet and greet...if I saw you or talked to you, e-mail me: mxpxgrrl@aol.com

Only person I really remember from meet and greet was this guy who had dyed his hair very cool looking-ish and was wearing this shirt he made himself of all these blurbs from tori songs, if you are reading this, def. e-mail me, you were very cool

Anyhow, sorry for taking up space and such- I just hope I'll be able to see tori again soon, I think next time I'll go alone...I'm so pissed off that my 'friends' ruined the whole tori experience for me Ah well... Cheers
Eileen

From soma Riot:

I must say that Tori was awesome last night.Something was there that I have never seen before.She was far more intimate with the audience than she was during Plugged in my opinion.

Has anyone ever noticed the faces she makes or the expressions with her hands,or even how she crossed her legs in a really cute way during one of the songs?Something was there like magic.

She also did some improvising during crucify and God which were really nice,and a purr during Cornflake girl.I thought my heart would stop beating when she played Thank You and Tear In your Hand,they were beautiful.

She did songs from every album except Boys For Pele and I was hoping to hear Caught a Lite Sneeze again Oh well,I am overly happy and didn't go to the meet and greet,one day I WILL meet Tori The rain was atrocious and now i have a terrible cold(although I was in the pavillion)and I only hope that no one else has a cold,but it was worth it.I spent $80 in souvenirs,but they are my memories Anyone know which shirts profit went to RAINN?

Oh,I didn't wear my RAINN shoes,too risky with that pesky weather.I didn't see too many faerie wings and i miss seeing those.I did however see alot of shirts that were sold over the internet that said Toriphile and Ears with Feet.Oh,Alanis was awesome too,the way she spins,and spins,and spins.I believe there were more Tori fans,but Alanis was really energetic and played the oldies but goodies.She was fun and today,believe it or not one of her songs was stuck in my head.Oh,i think we are in for a real treat with To Venus and Back the songs are just amazing and have a new different sound.Oh,I wish I had been able to see Tori during her girl and piano most of the concert days.SATY and Thank You were so clear and just show off her talent and ability,I now know what EWF who saw her in the early 90's are talking about,what a treat Well,its time for me to take some more Tylenol Cold and Flu so I'll talk with you guys later.

From curvefan:

Let's see....rain, mud, traffic, got in at around 8pm, my Protix-info said gates open at 7:30pm. So I'm standing at the merchandise booth, eyeing the Venus and Back program, when music starts up and the crowd goes nuts. "Gee", I'm thinking, "That's a pretty strong reaction for an opening act."(Remember the mp3-local band-hype?)My girlfriend is saying, "Steve, that's HER!" "Naw, can't be....ain't time yet...." But then the bassline (which is what all I could hear) to "God" gives it all away. "To the Bat-seats, Robin!!!" Right center, Row 00, Seats 54-56, barely inside the pavilion--instant compassion for the poor soaked souls on the lawn. I was grateful, we could see fine, and it WAS Tori. Everyone else has posted way better than I could the experience of Tori that night, but here's one more tangent spooling through this thread--where we were sitting was right next to the people in the right "loge" whose overhead shelter was not the steel roof of the pavilion but a tent-like material. In the middle of Tori's set(and what a set it was--"Graveyard"!!, one incredible "Thank You" [obviously superior to someone else's "Thank U"], the new stuff, and a powerful "Waitress"), it started to rain harder and thus louder as well upon the tent-structure. We could still hear fine, but I really felt bad for a lot of people that night.

Strangely enough, I didn't know what to expect. We had seen Tori before in '96 at Constitution Hall where she gave one of the best concerts I've ever seen, period. So I was almost set for a let-down, but her and her band were magnificent. The crowd itself hasn't really got its due, by the way. The Tori fans were hanging on her every note, her every word. Part of the fun of going to a Tori concert is being in a loving group of people like the Tori fans are. (Of course, it can be depressing looking at all those young college-age women running around....sigh....but I'm giving away my age...)

As for Alanis....ummm.....ahh......well.....geez, I really don't want to slag her, but....I don't know. I really, REALLY wish Tori could have gone on last. Alanis' set was......OK. It was a bonus, I guess. But compared to our Scarlett-O'Haired pianoplayin' diva, she HAD to suffer the inevitable position of being second best. Oh, yes, and as for that person saying the Alanis keyboardist could teach Tori a thing or two, what concert were you watching?? That noodling crap he tried to pass off during "Uninvited" as inspired improvisation didn't impress me at all. It sucked, plain and simple. The piano work Tori did on "Cornflake Girl" blew that poor fool away and he didn't even know it. Anyway, another great concert and some nice memories--even with the rain.....
curvefan@yahoo.com

From thoughtsritenow:

im sure you all noticed the 'marianne' reference in graveyard... found that quite appropriate seeing as she was back home, in a sense. it was an amazing night/day, and i am quite happy to say that i enjoyed hearing 6 of the new girls either at the concert or just passin thru.

definitely one of my favourite tori dayes

From Not a Pretty Swirl Girl:

Well...i usually don't do the whole review thing, but tonight i'm going through Tori withdrawal and i just feel the need...okay, here goes... So far i've been to the first 6 shows of the tour and although i'm about $2,000 in debt (seriously), it's been SO worth it. And i've still got 8 shows to go!
i know this is the D.C. forum thing, but i'm just gonna give my little rundown of my tour so far...
Okay, Ft. Lauderdale~ after driving all the way there from Ohio without stopping, we arrived about 20 minutes after the M&G. Oh, well, i got over it. Then right before the show some VH1 girly saw my Tori tattoo and asked me if she could talk to me for a second. She asked me a few questions and was very nice and then they took a close-up of my tattoo. i don't have VH1, so if it does air, could someone let me know? Anyways, the show was unbelievable. i couldn't believe i was actually seeing Tori again until she was actually on stage. When she finally came on i kinda lost it and just started bawling just because i hadn't seen her since December 3 1998!! Okay, i'm psycho, but i keep getting off the topic so ANYWAYS...Obviously, she opened with God which is not one of my favorites at all, so i'm kinda upset that that's this year's song. Oh well, Sugar is DEFINITELY making up for it. i LOVE the new Crucify and Blood Roses. Professional Widow kicked so much ass. "so...i wrote this in a hotel room. some of you may recognize it" was Hey Jupiter and i couldn't have wished for anything more. it was one of the most beautiful 4 minutes of my life and i'll never forget the feeling it gave me. Cooling was gorgeous as usual too. The Waitress had SO MANY wonderful Plugged memories cause "hang ten hang ten honey i'm gonna go where she goes". "i believe she's the devil bitch" was awesome. Precious Things felt like the show was starting, but then i realized it was over. Being the first show, no one knew if there were post show M&G's, so we raced outside only to be disappointed.
Tampa~ i am a complete firm believer in the number system and this M&G was insane w/o them, so my friend and i just sat to the side and watched. Tori glanced over at us and blew us kisses, so it was still all good. The highlight of my day was actually when i was talking to Steve Sanchez (my favorite person in the whole wide world). i saw him in May when he was touring with Hole but didn't get a chance to talk to him. Well, i talked to him today and HE SAW ME AND ASKED ME ABOUT IT! How kick-ass is that?? The show to me was actually really disappointing. Basically the same set with no stories? What kind of Tori show is that? The highlights were definitely Take To The Sky and Little Earthquakes, which brought me to tears.
Atlanta~My first real M&G of the tour. the number system worked beautifully, even though i mine wasn't that great. She did hold my hand for a second and i got a nice little exchange of words. Again, the show was disapointing to me although i LOVE Juarez. Cloud on my Tongue was gorgeous too.
Nashville~The highlight of MY LIFE. Actually, i want to be completely thorough on this one, so i think i'll post it to the actual Nashville forum. if you want an incredibly touching stori, read it. She played my song for me. today proved to me just what a person Tori really is. i love her. Oh yes, and i think that night was the breakthrough night on shows. She's back to being my Tori i love. Charlotte~Again, numbers are wonderful even when i am 34. She saw me and called my name and held her hand over her heart. it was beautiful. i also had a note delivered to her by my wonderful friend Zac who was #3. The show was wonderful. i've been waiting for Angie forever and i was not disappointed. i especially liked the "FUCK THAT"! Finally, DC or Maryland or wherever i was at~ The M&G was great even though it was raining. i was in the 3rd row center.and when she was done talking to the people in fromt of me, i called her name and she looked at me and said "Jen!" i simply said "Thanks for Landslide" and she squeezed my hand and closed her eyes and said something but i couldn't hear it over the RUDE people talking around me. Then she said "is this your last show?" and i was like,"um...for about a week. i'll be back in Buffalo." and she said "See you there" and squeezed my hand again. i'm in love...
The show was soooo good...almost dream-like, thinking back. Thank You was one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard. It sounds silly, but Graveyard is one of my favorite songs and i just bawled. Especially because of the Marianne reference (Tori and i talked about her in Nashville). Tear in Your Hand will always be one of my 3 favorite songs and i had been hoping for it. Well, you know the rest. i now have not seen her in 2 days and i can't stop crying. i think i have a problem... Anyways, to anyone who actually read this entire thing~thanks for listening to me babble. only 7 more days till my next show!

From Sister Kate:

Mmm. The show was awesome, despite the fact that my party of four was on the lawn, and subsequently became soaked. Actually, standing outside in the rain from 10 am til about 10 pm didn't dampen my spirits. I could have died; she played Crucify, Silent all These Years, Cornflake girl, and of course, Bliss. Needless to say, we skipped Alanis to get out of the down pour. I don't regret that. Oh, and about the Meet & Greet, the numbers we got were completely useless. Being 34 don't mean much anymore, i guess.

From AAT:

Hi- I know I'm posting this rather late after the concert, but here it goes...
Did anybody get backstage after the show???

I did by an enormous stroke of luck, and I finally met her (1st time!!!)!!! I went to the concert with Eric the Red and a few others, and when I got back there, I asked her if she remembered Eric the Red, adn her eyes lit up and she smiled and said, 'I do!'. I told her that Eric says hi, and she said, 'well you give him my best!'

This was all while I was crying like a mad woman- I was soaked to the bone, too, from standing outside begging the guards to let me in. I must have been quite a sight... Anyway, it was one of the most spectacular nights of my life. She signed my ticket stub, which was crumpled from being in my pocket. I now have it in a black frame with a dark purple background. It is now one of my most prized posessions. :-)

Hey Zara- are you a part of this board?
Thanks so much for your efforts to get us backstage!!! I know there were 4 others back there who got in- are any of you part of this board?

From thesedeadpetals:

wow.what an awesome show.
loved the setlist.was very at home. i love when she comes to baltimore...

the meet and greet was great.even through it was pouring rain. i met raisengiirl...HI LOVE!((and i want to talk to you about gertting copies of some of those pics))
the concert was wonderful! graveyard had the cutest marianne improve.."marianne's alive.she's alive." and straight to tear in your hand.then thank you.

it was amasing.
raisengiirl please email me!
IT WAS GREAT.
i have a boot of the show,so email me if you want it!!

From Zahra:

AAT I remember you and eric the red...it's me Zahra....I have been in a daze since the concert. Every once in a while I go and look at her dad's business card (that got us backstage) and think about my incredible luck...for those of you who don't know...I had lawn seats...but because of rain, I snuck in and was 20 feet away from her, then got kicked out, snuck in and hid in the bathroom, listening to her practice, and got pavillion tickets given to me by a guy who's friends could not make it (for free, because i had been nice to him outside--niceness pays off--I kissed his hands--thank you if you're out there!)...The tickets he gave me were soundboard..so the pavillion supervisor gave me and my friend 20th row seats, right behind the reverend and mrs.amos..I mustered up courage to talk to him, kiss her mother's hands, and tell him how much his daughter meant to me. He took out his business card and wrote a note to Joel to allow me backstage...AAT (April, right?)was sitting by me, and along with eric the red we went backstage, then got kicked out...I was crying standing outside of the screened area where the backstage pass people were, in the pouring rain, I begged a pavillion guard to show the reverend's card to him, to verify that he had promised me I could meet his daughter. When i got there, he said "I was looking for you, dad's getting in trouble for letting people back here...I consider myself extremely lucky..there is a god..when I got to see her, I cried while hugging her, and she said "it's ok, sometimes you need to let it out, and hugged me harder. I gave her a gold and amber necklace that my grandfather in Iran made for me...it means alot to me...if you ever see her wearing a gold and oval-shaped amber necklace, please tell me. If anyone has pictures pleaseb send them to me, I got no pictures, I only have her autograph (and her dad's business card with his phone# and address on it!) E-mail me at: zahra_jan@hotmail.com Her parents were wonderful...I obverheard a very personasl conversation her mom was having, and it shocked me that I was In such an intimate area of her life(out of respect for tori, i will not discuss the subject and comments, but my heart aches for her in so many respects...I love her and pray for her everyday). I envy the little girl who will one day be her daughter....may we all be so lucky....hugs to everyone who made my tori experience possible...AAT, hope to see you on campus at Maryland! P.S. Her dad really let me meet her beacause i had gone to her junior high, Eastern in Silver Spring, MD, which you may recall, she mentioned at the concert (i'm the wacko who screamed "I went there!" for those of you in row X or XX(?) center)
REMEMBER: IF YOU WANT SOMETHING BAD ENOUGH, YOU WILL GET IT